Voy a Luchar
by elohelkae
Summary: Harlie Ryder has been on her own since the dead rose. Well, she's not completely alone. What will happen when she crosses paths with the group? Especially when they meet her trying to save one of their own. Will she ever trust her life in anyone's hands besides her own? Or will her hesitations cost her? After all, what's the point of fighting if you have nothing to fight for?
1. Meet Harlie

**A/N:** Hope you enjoy!

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My feet smack against the dirt ground below me as I weave around trees. The pounding sounds of Callie and Rusty's paws come from either side of me. My breathing comes in heavy pants. My backpack bounces against my back and I hold the straps tightly in my hands, refusing to lose my supplies as I hurry back to my truck.

I've just stolen supplies from some random camp. Before the world became a feeding frenzy for the dead, I had never stolen anything in my life. I had never done anything illegal. Now though, I do something illegal every day it seems. Looting. Stealing. Hot wiring. _Killing_. I live in a world where there are no laws. You can do whatever you want. There are no cops to stop you... or help you.

I know that it won't take more than a few minutes before the camp realizes that they're missing a gun, bullets, and a good amount of food. It's highly likely that they will go on a search for the person who robbed them. I plan to be long gone by then.

The camp was made up of 3 men and 2 women. Apparently they weren't very bright, leaving their supplies unattended like they had. They must've assumed that because it was broad daylight, nobody would try anything. That was a bad call on their part. All I'd had to do was hide in the trees and wait for an opening to get what I needed.

Callie and Rusty jump high over a large fallen tree limb and pause, waiting for me to do the same. I have to climb over it as it's too large for me to jump over or run under. When my feet hit the ground, I stop to assess my surroundings.

To my left I can hear the lake that I know for a fact runs on for miles (thanks to the map in my bag). The highway where I parked is to the right of the lake. I look down at Callie and Rusty. They stare up at me, their tounges hanging out of their open mouths as they pant.

"Not much further," I whisper to them. I turn to the right and take off in a run again, moving further and further away from the creek, where I know the road will be.

The comforting sound of my dogs' paws start up again, taking their places on either side of me. After a minute or two, Rusty - who is on my right - suddenly growls low in his throat, a bark following after, and the hair on his back stands straight up. Callie mimicks his actions barely a second later.

I slow down slightly. Their actions mean only one thing - one of the dead is close by. My eyes search everywhere, looking for the moaner that has set them on edge.

I have to squint to see it but when I do, I pull my bow from my shoulder and an arrow from the quiver on my back. My bag makes it a bit difficult to do so but I get the arrow quickly. It is directly in front of me, about 25 or so feet away. Slowing down into a jog, I line up the arrow and pull the string back towards my chin, aiming at it.

Inhale, exhale, _release_.

The arrow flies through the open woods and impales in the back of the moaner's head, it's body falling to the ground.

I look at my companions to make sure no more of the infected are close by. They've noticeably calmed down, their hair no longer sticking up and their tails wagging happily as they run.

I shoulder my bow and pick up my fast pace again, only slowing down to pull my arrow from the dead moaner's head.

After maybe 5 more minutes, I start to see the hill that leads up to the highway. I'm about 15 feet away when Callie and Rusty start growling again. Only it's much worse this time. Their tails flick tensely back and forth. Their ears stand straight up, along with their hair. Their teeth are bared. They are so tense and growling so deep their bodies are shaking. They've stopped running. I know that whatever we just almost ran into, it is bad. I slow to a walk, taking in a deep breath.

We walk a few more feet closer and then I instruct them to sit. I begrudgingly walk to the tree line, knowing I'm going to see something I really don't want to see.

I peek around the tree, taking much care to keep myself in the shadows, and can't believe what's in front of my eyes.

The biggest herd I have _ever_ seen is on the highway.


	2. Meeting Rick, Shane, & Daryl

**A/N**: Here's chapter 2!

* * *

_Previously_

_I peek around the tree, taking much care to keep myself in the shadows, and can't believe what's in front of my eyes._

_The biggest herd I have ever seen is on the highway_.

* * *

I stare in shock. I have seen plenty of herds in the last two months. Mostly in small towns, where you wouldn't expect them. But those herds don't even compare to the amount of infected that are up on the highway.

A movement comes from the corner of my eye and I look towards it. It only takes me a few seconds to realize that there is a survivor on the highway too. A man. He's been forced to take shelter in the only place available, under a car.

When I look around again, I notice that he is not the only one. There are more survivors, all hiding under the abandoned cars.

I automatically start searching for the black SUV I've been driving for a few weeks. The large vehicle is around seventeen yards down the highway, where I left it parked by the guardrail. A small body is under it.

I turn back around, leaning against the tree and looking at my dogs. Their behavior is still the same, even as they sit obediently.

Going back to staring at the highway, I'm careful to stay aware of my surroundings in case a moaner tries to sneak up on me.

It feels like forever before the herd disappers.

"Finally," I mutter. I turn to sit back against the tree, planning to stay there until the survivors leave. Just as I start to sit down, a childlike cry of fear has me standing back up and looking up the hill.

Two moaners, apparently slower than the herd that just passed through, are near my truck. The little body that was hiding beneath it is the source of the noise.

I watch as a little girl crawls under the guardrail to unsuccessfully get away from the moaners. They come after her quickly and she has no choice but to slide down the hill towards the woods.

It only takes me a few seconds to react, a few seconds to confirm that I'm not going to let anything happen to the stranger who can't defend herself.

"Come," I say quickly to Callie and Rusty, running in the direction of the little girl.

We stay just beyond the treeline, where I can check to make sure I don't get close to my truck. I hear a woman yelling the name Sophia between sobs and I assume that is the little girls name.

About twenty feet away from the path that leads from my truck to the woods, I take a sharp right. I had seen a man tumble down the hill and run to the opening where the little girl, Sophia, had disappeared. That will put him behind Sophia and the moaners following her. My plan is to get ahead of them.

I keep running until I see a flash of navy blue to my left, the color I had noticed Sophia wearing.

I push my legs faster, ignoring the aches forming in them.

After half a minute more, I slam to a stop, Rusty and Callie stopping next to me. I take my bow in hand, dropping my bag to the ground and pulling an arrow out, lining it up and raising it in the direction of fast footfalls.

The first thing I see is the moaner, another close behind it. When I lower my gaze slightly, I see the little girl's frightened face.

I release the arrow and it slides into the second moaners eye. I grab another arrow and shoot it at the first moaner right as it grabs for Sophia, growling at her.

Sophia turns to me when it drops, looking at me in shock and fear and hope.

"Did anymore see you?" I ask seriously. She nods, looking in the direction she just came from.

"How many?"

"Three or four," she responds in a scared whisper.

"Follow me." I quickly pick up my bag. Sophia runs right over, standing close to me. I scan the area around us. I need to find somewhere to hide her.

"This way," I instruct when I notice the beginning of a creek. When we reach it I see what looks similar to a beavers dam, vines and branches and limbs all hanging in front of a hole built in underneath large rocks. It is well hidden and unless you were looking for a place to hide, you wouldn't notice.

"In here," I help her into the water, rushing towards the hiding spot. Pushing back the opening, she climbs in and I direct Rusty in with her. I hand over my bag full of supplies and then start talking quickly.

"Stay here, do not move unless you see one of your group. Keep this bag with you." I hesitate before I pull out the gun I'd stolen and click the safety off.

"If you have no other choice, use this. Pull back on this right here, then aim at the head and pull this." I show it to her and then put the gun in front of her. I glance over my shoulder.

"No, don't leave me." Sophia says, whimpering.

"I'll be back. I promise. This is Rusty, he'll keep you safe until I come back." I take her hand and bring it to Rusty's mouth. He rubs his nose against her hand and I know he will protect her.

"Be quiet and remember what I said." I take one last look at Sophia and Rusty and then jump up, running back towards the end of the creek. Callie follows me, growling the entire time. I load my bow again as we run. We get to the end of the creek just as one of the dead stumbles through. I shoot it in the head before it can move towards me. Three more suddenly stumble through.

"Damn it." I grunt, Callie follows closely as I run away from the creek. The moaners follow quickly, arms out in front of them and lustful growls coming from their mouths.

I load another arrow and I'm beginning to worry I'm going to run out. I'm more than tempted to use the gun strapped to my right thigh, but I'm trying to get the moaners away, not draw even more of them for me to kill on my own.

As we enter a small clearing, I turn and let go of the strap. It's pure luck when the arrow impales into the forehead of the moaner closest to me, knocking it's body to the ground and the one behind it falls over the body. It gives me time to easily take out the one still on it's feet.

I reach for an arrow to finish off the last one, coming up empty.

Shit. I should've got my arrows back before I hid Sophia. I have a box of them in my bag, but that doesn't help at the moment.

I drop my bow and yank my knife from its holster on my left thigh, twirling it in my right hand so that the blade is facing downward. I hate trying to kill one of the dead like this. Killing them from a distance is always less stressful. And less dangerous.

The final moaner is already back up. A woman who was probably pretty before this all happened. Her one eye is set on me and she's practically drooling. It's best to think of these things as "its" and not who they once were.

It comes towards me and Callie bares her teeth, diving at it and hitting her paws into its chest, knocking it to the ground. Callie jumps back before it can bite at her and I slam my knife into its head. A sickening crack sounds, nearly black colored blood pouring from the wound. I yank my knife from its head and wipe the blood off on the grass. Backing away from the body, I wipe my sweaty forehead on my arm.

I glance around to see if there are anymore around. When I'm satisfied that there aren't for the moment, I put my knife away and check Callie over, unsurprised to see that she is okay.

The sound of feet against hard ground comes from the direction of the creek and I pull my gun out. I can tell the difference between a moaner's feet and a human's. You wouldn't think it at first but living, breathing people are even more dangerous than the dead. I raise it up just as a man slams to a hasty stop on the edge of the clearing, where the bodies are. Callie is back on edge because of his presence.

I'm fairly certain that it's the same man that had tumbled down the hill after Sophia. He has on a dirty white t-shirt, black jeans, a belt, a silver watch, and dirty brown boots. In his hands is a large rifle with a scope on it. He has pushed back brown hair and stubble on his face. His blue eyes remind me of the ocean. They look tired and worried, but most of all scared. Before I can ask him if he's looking for Sophia and just as I lower my gun, another man comes running after him into the clearing also.

This man has on a sweaty tan button up shirt tucked into brown jeans with a belt and black boots. He has what looks to be a large shotgun, which he points at me the second he sees me. That does nothing to calm Callie down and she starts growling in their direction. His black hair is wet and pushed from his face. His eyes are nothing like the other man's. His are hard, cold, suspicious, and untrusting. Something about him feels off to me.

"Who the hell are you?" He demands, taking a step towards me and stopping when Callie makes a noise that terrifies even me. I kind of want to punch him in the face when he turns the gun on her. Although I do get it, if Callie and Rusty weren't mine, I would be scared of them too. I was at first. Anyone with a brain knows that a dog can vicious.

"Shane," the man next to him says angrily. They must have some kind of history, maybe even before shit hit the fan, judging by the tension that even I, a person who knows neither of them, can feel.

"What, Rick? We don't know this woman and you're lowering you're weapon to her? She could have a group watching us for all we know!" What Shane says is insane. I can tell that he is the kind of person that makes up outrageous theories just to get his way or his point across. Apparently the other man, Rick, can see that too judging by the way he completely ignores Shane's words, turning to look at me instead, and I watch as Shane's jaw tenses.

"Have you seen a little girl? About this tall," Rick motions with his hand, his voice slightly desperate. "She got seperated from our group and-"

"You mean Sophia?" I ask, cutting him off.

Shane glares at me like I've just admitted to kidnapping Sophia. Before he can open his mouth to start accusing me of horrible things, I'm sure, another man comes walking up.

This man has short brown hair. He's the dirtiest of the three. He's wearing a button up shirt with the sleeves ripped off, jeans, and tan boots. His clothing is covered in dirt and dried mud. He looks distrusting of me too, not as bad as Shane though. He's carrying a loaded crossbow and has a knife hanging from his belt.

"You know where Sophia is?" He questions, looking at me suspiciously.

I nod. Reaching my hand down, I run it through the hair on Callie's head to calm her slightly. I then holster my gun and pick my bow back up, sliding it onto my shoulder.

I'm not worried about them trying to hurt me, they want Sophia back so obviously none of them will try anything.

I start walking towards them, Callie following closely, she's still not okay with them yet. I stop next to them to retrieve my arrows, wiping the blood off on the grass and putting them back in my quiver. I then get up and start walking back to the creek, their footsteps telling me they're following. I can practically feel a gun pointed at my back.

"You kill all these walkers yourself?" The nameless man asks, still sounding suspicious.

"Walkers?" I repeat, turning my head to look at him.

"Geeks. Zeds. Mindless assholes. Whatever you call 'em."

"Moaners, actually. Walkers sounds better though. And yeah, I did. Mostly." I respond, picking up the pace as I notice that the sun will be setting soon.

"Mostly?" Shane demands. He sounds as though he's about to say "I told you so" any second. It almost gives me joy to say my next words.

"Yeah, Callie helped me with the last one." I pat Callie on the head. Shane scoffs behind me.

"A mutt helped you kill a walker? And where the hell are you takin' us?" I roll my eyes at him. I'm really getting sick of being treated like some criminal just for helping one of their own.

"Yes, she did. The creek." I wait for him to make his next comment. I don't have to wait long.

"You left a little girl out here all by herself by the creek?" He demands incredulously, saying it like he thinks I'm an idiot.

"You left a little girl all by herself underneath a car in the middle of a herd?" I spit back. "And I'll have you know, she's not out in the open and she's not alone. Rusty is with her."

"Rusty a dog too?" Crossbow guy asks after a few seconds, sounding like he's afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah." I respond, not even the slightest bit embarrassed. I've seen what both Rusty and Callie can do. I've seen how smart they are, how vicious they will be to protect. They've saved my life on more than one occasion.

"Jesus Rick, this woman is crazy." Shane says, barely even lowering his voice.

"You know where Sophia is? And you're sure she's safe?" I guess Rick decides to ignore Shane's words again. I'm not surprised. I can practically feel the worry radiating off of the man.

"Yes." I respond honestly and confidently.

"Then we'll trust you. And we won't _judge_." Rick puts a lot of emphasis on the last word and I can see why he's obviously the leader.

The rest of the walk is quiet. We stop once so crossbow guy can shoot a walker in the head with his bow. I keep finding myself referring to moaners as walkers. But I don't mind, it sounds less fictional.

When we get to the creek we've come around a different way and are near the top, above where the hole is.

The first thing I notice is a walker in the water that wasn't there before. Its face is the only thing in the water, its back is all clawed up and so is the back of its head. It's been dragged away from wherever it had previously been, I can tell by the marks in the dirt of the creek and the marks on its ankles. It's quite obviously dead but I'm still worried.

I bring the thumb and pointer finger of my right hand to my mouth and whistle the low tune that Rusty and Callie always come to. Callie looks up at me.

Rusty doesn't respond.


	3. Choices for Chapter 3

**A/N (Please Read):** I am so sorry it's taken me this long to update! And this isn't even technically an update... I'm sorry.

I had chapter three completely planned out and half way written and then I stupidly thought "what if I went a different way with this?" And ever since, I've been struggling with which version to go with.

The two ways I'm trying to decide between would take the story in different directions and I'm having a very hard time choosing which direction to go in. It just occurred to me the other day to leave it up to you guys, the readers. So these are the two different beginnings of the third chapter. The second version will take the story into a more suspenseful area, obviously. I've got a lot of ideas for the second version and some for the first but like I said, I can't decide between the two. Both will put them on Hershel's farm eventually.

Make sure to vote! After a day or two, whichever version has the most choices I'll start finishing up.

_Emzy2k11_: Thank you for being my first reviewer! You'll just have to wait to find out what happens to Rusty. I'm glad you're liking it so far!

_XxAkira-MariexX_: Thank you! Making this story seem as real as it can and flow good is very important to me. Harlie is kind of like my baby since this is the first story I've ever written, so I'm really happy you love her. My little sister has an obsession with dogs, so that's sort of what inspired Callie and Rusty.

_Teddy1994_: I'm glad you love it! The next chapter will be up soon hopefully!

_Guest_: Update will be up soon, I promise. Thank you! Rusty's strong, we'll just have to wait and see.

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**_Previously_**

_I bring the thumb and pointer finger of my right hand to my mouth and whistle the low tune that Rusty and Callie always come to. Callie looks up at me._

_Rusty doesn't respond._

* * *

**_Version 1:_**

My hearts jumps into my throat and I feel like I'm about to pass out.

Rusty has never once not come to me when I whistle for him.

"He suppose ta' come when you do that?" Crossbow guy asks.

I nod slowly and I can practically feel the three of them tense up.

"Rick." Shane hisses. I turn my head and I can see that even Rick, the obvious leader, is starting not to trust me. He's beginning to doubt what I've been saying. For some reason, that actually bugs me.

Callie and I move towards the edge of the hill, jumping down onto the dirt near the dead moaner. I pull my gun back out.

I make my way towards the place I'd hid Sophia even though part of me wants to run away from here. If something happened to Rusty, to Sophia.. I don't know how I'll survive.

I'd tried not to let myself get attached to Rusty or Callie, knowing how easily I could lose them. But in barely a month, I've come to love them like I've had them since they were puppies, like they've been with me for years.

They have kept me going when I didn't see the point and I don't know if I can handle losing one of them.

Callie follows me into the water. I can hear the men making their way down to the creek too.

When I reach the hole, I force myself to raise my gun and hesitantly kneel down to pull a section of the cover back. I see immediately why Rusty didn't come to me.

Sophia has her arms wrapped tightly above Rusty's shoulders, a dirty doll I hadn't notice before in her hand with her face buried in his fur. Her small body is shaking. Rusty probably couldn't even move if he tried, which he doesn't. He sits perfectly still, letting her hold onto him.

* * *

_**Version 2:**_

My hearts jumps into my throat and I feel like I'm about to pass out.

Rusty has never once not come to me when I whistle for him.

"He suppose ta' come when you do that?" Crossbow guy asks.

I nod slowly and I can practically feel the three of them tense up.

"Rick." Shane hisses. I turn my head and I can see that even Rick, the obvious leader, is starting not to trust me. He's beginning to doubt what I've been saying. For some reason, that actually bugs me.

Callie and I move towards the edge of the hill, jumping down onto the dirt near the dead moaner. I pull my gun back out.

I make my way towards the place I'd hid Sophia even though part of me wants to run away from here. If something happened to Rusty, to Sophia.. I don't know how I'll survive.

I'd tried not to let myself get attached to Rusty or Callie, knowing how easily I could lose them. But in barely a month, I've come to love them like I've had them since they were puppies, like they've been with me for years.

They have kept me going when I didn't see the point and I don't know if I can handle losing one of them.

Callie follows me into the water. I can hear the men making their way down to the creek too.

When I reach the hole, I force myself to raise my gun and hesitantly kneel down to pull a section of the cover back. I see immediately why Rusty didn't come to me.

Rusty is gone. Sophia is gone. My bag, along with my gun are gone. There is a small amount of blood on one of the branches.

_Oh my God. No, no, no._

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**Another A/N:** It's up to you guys now! I know some of you are worried about Rusty, but please don't let that influence your choice. Think about the type of story you'd like to read.

Version 1 of chapter 3: Sophia and Rusty are both there. The story will move back to the highway and Harlie will meet the whole shaken up group after bringing Sophia back.

Version 2 of chapter 3/portion of the story: Sophia and Rusty are gone. Harlie will begin searching for them very fiercely, along with the group. With some much loved drama for both versions. After all, it's not really the apocalypse without drama, right? ;)

**A poll is now on my profile**. Vote, vote, vote! The quicker it's decided, the quicker I can have it posted for all of you lovely people.

Also, I've posted pictures on my profile of what Callie, Harlie, and Rusty look like. You can go check that out if you'd like. I know Harlie looks a bit young, but the person I chose to play her is older than she looks. Plus, you've got to imagine her apocalypse dirty (that's what I like to call it, aha) with messy hair, the very familiar worn out survival clothes, and no makeup. I love the person I chose for her to look like and I hope you're all happy with it. I hope you guys like Callie and Rusty too!

**EDIT: **I'm updating this because it seems some of you have a misunderstanding of what version 2 would mean. I plan to do the missing Sophia situation differently from the show. The searching for Sophia only for her to end up dead has been used so much that I'd really rather write it another way if that is the version that is chosen.


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